Vanessa McMahon

Chelsea Handler and Alex Ross Perry at

Sun Valley Film Festival Coffee Talks

Fest Additional Line-up of Feature and Short Films

The 2019 Sun Valley Film Festival (SVFF), presented by Ford. Celebrated host, author, stand-up comic and activist Chelsea Handler will attend the festival as a special guest and participate in the festival’s Coffee Talks on Thursday, March 14.  Alex Ross Perry, who will receive the Festival’s Rising Star Award for Directing, will participate in Coffee Talks on Saturday, March 16.  In addition, the festival has added seven feature films and 26 short films to its line-up. Now in its eighth year, SVFF offers five days of films, panels, parties and more, March 13-17, 2019.

Considered the crown jewel of the festival, Coffee Talks are moderated one-hour conversations with top industry talent sharing stories about their journey and their craft.  Handler and Perry will join previously announced Coffee Talk guests Aaron Paul on Friday, March 15 and Meg Ryan on Sunday, March 17. 

On April 9, Handler will release her much anticipated sixth book, Life Will Be the Death of Me. Her other best-selling books include My Horizontal Life (2005), Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea (2008), Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang (2010), Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me (2011), and 2014’s Uganda Be Kidding Me. Handler is also known for her successful seven-year run as the host of E!’s Chelsea Lately, which was then followed by the Netflix talk show Chelsea in 2016. She can also be seen in Netflix’s documentary series Chelsea Does and is currently in production on a feature length documentary focusing on the notion of white privilege. As an activist, Handler has joined forces with EMILY’s List and partnered with the Karam Foundation.

Perry is an American writer and director, born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He studied film at NYU. His feature directorial efforts include The Color Wheel, Listen Up Philip, Queen of Earth, and Golden Exits. Her Smell is his latest work.

Seven feature films have been added to the official SVFF line-up including the US premiere of C’est ça L’ amour (Real Love) and the Festival Premiere of Disneynature’s Penguins. These films will join previously announced opening night film David Crosby: Remember My Name, closing night film Running with Beto and Perry’s Her Smell. The short film slate proves to be one of the most diverse and exciting to date featuring 26 films from across the country with nine Made in Idaho films, eight World Premieres, and dozens of talented young filmmakers. Select films will screen at the new Argyros Performing Arts Center, which will be transformed into the Ford Main Street Theater for the duration of the Festival. The list of feature films are below with short films on the festival website at www.sunvalleyfilmfestival.org.

Film Slate additions - Narrative Features

C’est ça L’amour (Real Love)- US premiere - Since his wife walked out on the family, Mario has raised their two daughters on his own. Frida, 14, blames him for her mother leaving. Niki, 17, dreams of independence. Meanwhile, Mario waits for his wife to come home.

Director/Writer: Claire Burger

Producer: Isabelle Madelaine

Cast: Bouli Lanners, Justine Lacroix, Sarah Henochsberg

Disneynature’s Penguins – Festival Premiere - Narrated by Ed Helms, and from the filmmaking team behind Bears and Chimpanzee, Disneynature’s all-new feature film Penguins is a coming-of-age story about an Adélie penguin named Steve who joins millions of fellow males in the icy Antarctic spring on a quest to build a suitable nest, find a life partner and start a family. None of it comes easily for him, especially considering he's targeted by everything from killer whales to leopard seals, who unapologetically threaten his happily ever after.

Directors: Alastair Fothergill, Jeff Wilson

Producers: Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield, Keith Scholey, Roy Conli

Narrator: Ed Helms

Indian Horse- An adaptation of Ojibway writer Richard Wagamese’s award-winning novel, this moving and important drama sheds light on the dark history of Canada’s boarding schools or Indigenous Residential Schools and the indomitable spirit of aboriginal people.

Director: Stephen Campanelli

Writers: Paula Devonshire, Dennis Foon

Executive Producer: Clint Eastwood

Cast: Sladen Peltier, Forrest Goodluck, Ajuawak Kapashesit

Lemonade - Based on a true story, this feature debut follows Mara, a young mother from Romania who is awaiting a green card. As she begins to navigate the labyrinth of modern U.S. immigration, she soon realizes that the American Dream is much darker than it seems. Corruption and abuse lie in wait for Mara and, as she fights to build a better life for her young son, we are left to wonder, at what cost?

Director: Ioana Uricaru

Writers: Ioana Uricaru, Tatiana Ionascu

Producers: Cristian Mungiu, Yanick Létourneau, Eike Goreczka, Christoph Kukula, Sean Wheelan

Cast: Mălina Manovici, Steve Bacic, Dylan Scott Smith, Milan Hurduc, Ruxandra Maniu

Film Slate additions – Documentary Features

Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love - Special Sneak Preview - Marianne and Leonard is a beautiful  love story between Leonard Cohen and his Norwegian muse Marianne Ihlen. Their love began on the idyllic Greek island of Hydra in 1960 as part of a bohemian community of foreign artists, writers and musicians. The film follows their love from the early days on Hydra, a humble time of ‘free love’ and open marriage, to how their love evolved when Leonard became a successful musician.

Director: Nick Broomfield

Producers: Nick Broomfield, Marc Hoeferlin, Shani Hinton, Kyle Gibbon

Editor: Marc Hoeferlin

Original Score: Nick Laird-Clowes

Ghost Fleet- Ghost Fleet follows a small group of activists who risk their lives on remote Indonesian islands to find justice and freedom for the enslaved fishermen who feed the world’s insatiable appetite for seafood. Bangkok-based Patima Tungpuchayakul, a Thai abolitionist, has committed her life to helping these “lost” men return home. Facing illness, death threats, corruption, and complacency, Patima’s fearless determination for justice inspires her nation and the world.

Directors: Shannon Service, Jeffrey Waldron

Producer: Jon Bowermaster

Executive Producers: Paul G. Allen, Jannat Gargi, Rocky Collins, Shari Saint Plummer, Shannon O’Leary Joy, Geralyn Dreyfous, Julia Ormond

Sea of Shadows - In Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, a group of brilliant scientists, high-tech activists, investigative journalists and courageous undercover agents attempt to rescue the most endangered and elusive whale on Earth while battling the vicious Mexican drug cartels and Chinese traffickers whose destructive poaching methods are threatening the region’s marine life.

Director: Richard Ladkani

Producers: Walter Köhler, Wolfgang Knöpfler

Executive Producers: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson, Philip Watson, Dinah Czezik-Müller, Michael Frenschkowski, Rebecca Cammisa, Laura Nix

The Sun Valley Film Festival, presented by Ford, has a long history of supporting and creating career-changing opportunities for filmmakers and independent artists the world over. With over 4,500 yearly attendees, SVFF is quickly becoming known as the Festival for Filmmakers: a boutique event beloved by film fans and auteurs alike. In 2019, the Festival will expand its commitment to providing career-changing opportunities for independent writers and filmmakers by awarding over $200,000 in prizes through its Screenwriters Lab, The Film Lab and Wild to Inspire competitions, among others.

About the Festival

The Eighth Annual Sun Valley Film Festival, presented by Ford, will run March 13-17th, 2019. With a mission to empower independent filmmakers to share the stories that inspire change, SVFF is where storytellers from around the world come together to bring their vision into focus. This spring, we gather to celebrate the art of filmmaking with a curated slate of more than 60 cutting-edge films and TV premieres, engaging Coffee Talks with top industry insiders, fabulous parties and panels, labs and workshops led by award-winning filmmakers and the spectacular SVFF Awards Bash. Past industry guests include Gwyneth Paltrow, Clint Eastwood, Oliver Stone, Jodie Foster, Bruce Dern, Geena Davis, Mark and Jay Duplass, and more. The combination of cutting-edge programming and bona-fide insider access in a fun, relaxed atmosphere is making the Sun Valley Film Festival a rising star in the world of destination festivals.